Computer systems, for example, which handle mission critical information, are typically made up of a plurality of computer processor subsystems, often remote from one another, to enable high availability access and continuous access 24/7/365. One example of mission critical information comprises customer data. The environment particular to this type of system entails multiple computer processors that work in conjunction to process data in a high availability environment. Such a system might comprise disk drive cache and data storage libraries, together with controllers and communication nodes, comprising computer processor subsystems called “clusters”.
It is important that computer processor subsystems have consistent information about each other in order to provide the high availability environment. One example of computer processor subsystems are cache storage and tape libraries to store data for both immediate and long term use at the various locations for the high availability environment.
The information about each of the computer processor subsystems is termed vital product data, and may comprise IP (internet protocol) addresses, Ethernet adapter addresses, number and type of tape drives, tape drive serial numbers, controller code levels, tape drive code levels, fiber optic cable serial numbers, tape library identifier, etc. For example, if a controller of a cluster has the wrong tape library identifier, the cluster cannot become operational.
The computer processor systems therefore need to have consistent correct information about each other, and a term for the consistency is that the system vital product data is “synchronized”.